EAST YORKSHIRE SMOKEHOUSE CELEBRATES HAT-TRICK OF AWARDS – AND NOW COMPETES FOR ENGLAND!

The last few years has been an amazing journey

Justin and Georgina Staal are enjoying their home smoked salmon with a glass or two of bubbly this week, as they toast the success of their Staal Smokehouse – which has won three prestigious food awards in under three years and has just been shortlisted for VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014 (VEHEY).

The couple, who run the smokery at Long Riston, near Beverley scooped the ‘Remarkable Fayre’ award in the 2013 Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards, or REYTAs, earlier this month – within months of securing a Great Taste Award for their Twice Smoked Duck, and two Deliciouslyorkshire 2012/13 awards for ‘Best Newcomer’ and their Oak Smoked Salmon.

The business will now automatically be put through to the national VEHEY Awards (formerly the Enjoy England Awards) – the highest accolade in English tourism.

“It was an absolute shock to win the Remarkable Fayre award – and then find out we would be put through to the VisitEngland awards with the chance to win national recognition,” says Justin. “We went along to the ceremony secure in the knowledge that our names wouldn’t be called as we were up against such strong competition – and then we won!

“The last few years has been an amazing journey and although a lot of people have said our smoked products are lovely, it’s great to get an official pat on the back. It’s very good for the ego!”

Justin and Georgina followed a long-held dream to start their own business when they set up Staal Smokehouse at Georgina’s family farm in 2010. Today, the eight-strong range of products includes Cold Smoked Salmon, Hot Smoked Trout, Smoked Mackerel and Hot Smoked Chicken – all made from locally sourced ingredients.

• Staal Smokehouse is located at The Cottage, Riston Grange, Long Riston, East Yorkshire, HU11 5SA, tel: 01964 541 946.
• The smokehouse is the culmination of Justin and Georgina’s experiences in farming and fishing. Justin travelled extensively during his job as a fishing tourism expert before setting up Staal Smokehouse, bringing smoking and curing techniques from various corners of the world, from hot smoked King Salmon in Alaska to cured Ptarmigan in the farming heartland of Iceland.
• All the meat and fish that is smoked is sourced from selected Yorkshire farms and producers, with the salmon coming straight from the cold clean waters of Scotland’s west coast.
• While the fish is dry cured with sea salt and dark molasses sugar, the poultry is soaked in a blended brine, before being placed in a locally built kiln where a blend of oak and apple wood sawdust is allowed to smoulder, generating a fine smoke that is drawn over the product.
• For more on the VEHEY Awards log on to www.visitenglandawards.org
• High-res image available